Cardigan Lost relationship (cold) (blue)Cardigan Decline of mental state (cold) (blue)Cardigan Emptiness and loss (cold) ( blue) Dementia is a broad category of brain diseases that cause a long-term and often gradual decrease in the ability to think and remember, great enough to affect a person's daily functioning. Dementia not only affects the person directly, but also affects their loved ones. Dealing with the loss of a family member is one of the most difficult challenges many of us face. Pain leads us to find something significant such as a critical attitude towards clothing or the repetition of one's actions, it is difficult to see someone you love become unable to remember you or their past. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayIn Anne Carson's poem "Father's Old Blue Cardigan" her observations of her father's mental decline are heartbreaking in their plainly stated simplicity. Carson uses the cardigan symbolically throughout the poem. The cardigan represents the relationship she lost, her father's mental decline, and the feeling of emptiness and loss. Where the poet tries to come to terms with the loss of his father. It is thoughtful but not contemplative, as the poet has yet to fully understand her father's death. The poet focuses, as a shocked child or adult would, on concrete objects as a means of understanding abstract matters. Here he does not speak directly about his father's personality, but pragmatically focuses on the "stamping" of his "boots". The "cardigan" envelops her, rather than memories of her father. He focuses on the "haystacks" that shocked his father as a means of coming to terms with the deterioration of his faculties. The muffled, echo-like thuds of “stomping” and “sat” suggest the muted realization of an extreme change that cannot yet be fully recognized. The structure of the poem suggests an uncertainty that she has. Although uniform in format, the rhyming scheme is not strictly adhered to. The length of the sentences varies from five words: "His laws were a secret." over ten lines, the rambling lines suggest misunderstanding on her part the only thing Anne is succinctly sure of is her living father "He wouldn't have done it." This is a powerful technique that illustrates his confusion. The poet uses the comparison to connect the images of her living and dying father. Maybe he does it to understand his loss. At first, his father is a stern and rigid man who "stamps" his solid, functional "boots" that perhaps possess a "coolness" like the snow he shakes off. This is in contrast to the "child who was dressed by an aunt", for whom life is so overwhelming that the "haystacks" shock him. The swing of the lower lip and the thrill of realization are suggested in the repeated "w" which sounds "wind", "will", "while". This comparison could root the poet's understanding in a more familiar reality, it seems to me a method of understanding. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay I conclude that the poet is struggling to come to terms with the cognitive and perhaps physical loss of his father.